KAMEO: ELEMENTS OF POWER
XBOX 360
Genre: Action/Adventure
Difficulty: Easy
Players: 1-2
Developer: Rare
Publisher: Microsoft
Review by Ruined
SYNOPSIS
From legendary game developer Rare Ltd. comes Kameo™: Elements of Power™, a larger-than-life journey full of intense combat, magnificent exploration, and innovative action that allows Kameo to transform into incredible monsters to search out and battle ever-present evil.
Kameo: Elements of Power is the first major original game Rare has released since the N64. Will this game prove Rare's worth, or will it lag behind like some of Rare's recent side-projects?
GRAPHICS: A-
Score reflects graphics viewed at 1080i resolution
The graphics in Kameo are either very good or outstanding, depending on the particular level you are playing. It is clear that some parts of the game use more of XBOX 360's power than other parts of the game. For instance, the first level of the game manages to use many shader effects that even the most advanced PC games have not tapped into yet; in addition, other areas such as The Badlands put the horsepower of XBOX 360 to work. These areas would not even be playable on the PC under the Shader Model 2.0 standard used by some very popular hardware (i.e. ATI X700, X800), as they use shader effects to add to the actual gameplay in addition to the image quality. An example of this is when you have to do fight in the Braveheart-esque battle in the Badlands, which has thousands of characters onscreen; this is only possible with Geometry Instancing which was just recently introduced to the PC in the Vertex Shader 3.0 standard, so you won't see PC games incorporating this into gameplay anytime soon. On the other hand, some of the levels in the game don't push the XBOX 360 to the limits; they still look fantastic, they just don't stand out as impossible to do on all but the most advanced video hardware as some parts of Kameo do. Even these levels, though, have tons of cool shader effects which makes them look very appealing. Almost all of the time Kameo makes you go "wow." The game has a fantasy theme, and you can easily get immersed within the world.
SOUND: A-
Score reflects sound played back in 5.1 Surround
The sound in Kameo is outstanding. Sound effects are spot on, and the music is fantastic. Surround sound is good as well. It is clear that the developers insisted on being creative when designing the sound of Kameo.
CONTROL: A-
While most of the control in the game is excellent, the underwater controls are a bit sluggish and difficult to matter. Aside from that, though, controls are intuitive and simple yet at the same time powerful. The A button is the talk button and also transforms you back into Kameo. The X, Y, and B buttons all transform you into one of the 10 elemental creatures you find throughout the game. The triggers execute the special moves and attacks of the current character you have active.
SINGLE PLAYER GAMEPLAY: A
The single player gameplay in Kameo is easy-to-master yet incredibly addictive. As you progress through the game, you gain more and more creatures that you can morph into. At any one time, you can have only 3 of these creatures active at once - though you can collect a total of 10. Therefore, the key to the game is selecting the right blend of 3 creatures for each level and scenario so that you can progress. For example, you might need one creature to roll up a vertical ramp, another creature to light a fire, and a third creature to hit a far away button to get past a puzzle in a given part of the game. Some enemies are also immune to certain elements or more vulnerable to certain elements, making your progression much easier if you use the right blend of creatures. Sometimes, you might even have to switch creatures mid-air in order to get through a part of a level.
Luckily, all of this morphing and creature selection is very well done and intuitive; hit the start button to open your Watnot book and assign creatures to face buttons at the start of an area/level, then throughout the level simply hit the face button of the creature you want to morph into when necessary. You can kill enemies by using the trigger special attacks of each creature. Sometimes, you can use attacks from two creatures to provide a more powerful attack; for instance, you can fire out an oil slick with Deep Blue (a blue octopus), then morph to Ash (a red dragon) and set the oil on fire, incinerating all enemies standing on it.
Along your way collecting all 10 elemental creatures that you need for the final battle, there are mini-puzzles and quests you can go on to get elemental fruits with. You can feed these elemental fruits to your creatures to upgrade their attacks or give them new attacks; all of this is done within the Watnot book, accessed via pressing start.
The game is both easy and difficult at the same time; while you may have to pull off some complex combos and fancy moves, generally you can't really get stuck on a puzzle in this game, as the game automatically gives you the option to get a hint whenever you are stuck. The game will alert you when it thinks you are stuck and gives you the option to get a hint by pressing start and talking to Ortho in the Watnot book. The puzzles can be fun to figure out so its not always best to get a hint as soon as you are stuck.
Gameplay remains fresh and fun throughout and will last around 15 hours if you do the side quests and upgrade all of your elemental creatures. If you rush through the game, you can probably finish it in about 10. For this type of game and with the high quality gameplay offered throughout, I feel you definitely get your money's worth with Kameo.
There are some nice little touches throughout, too. If you are in a town that surrounds a water temple, for instance, when you morph into your water elemental the NPCs will cheer you on. Also, if you hit an NPC, a lot of them will hit back. Finally, there are shops within the game that allow you to purchase alternate skins and items that will help you on your quest with coins you collect through the game.
MULTIPLAYER GAMEPLAY & XBOX LIVE FEATURES: C
Difficulty to earn XBOX Live Achievement Points: Easy
Kameo's multiplayer is weak. That being said, most games of this genre don't offer any multiplayer at all, so weak multiplayer is better than no multiplayer. You can play split screen co-operative with a friend offline in Kameo, however co-op is limited to missions which you can unlock in the single player game. These missions are levels which are different than or not present in the single player game. Though a fun addition, it is relatively shallow.
In terms of XBOX Live features, Kameo has tons of achievements to unlock as you progress through the game. I found myself motivated to play more so I could unlock more features on my XBOX Live Gamercard. A leaderboard is also accessible to Kameo players.
OVERALL: A
Kameo is an excellent game, and out of the box in my opinion is the most "fun" launch game to play single player on XBOX 360. It truly does shine as an excellent, innovative, and exciting action/adventure game. Rare has shown that they are still, in fact, a top notch studio with Kameo. Be warned though: if you are looking for a solid multiplayer experience, look elsewhere.
Link to buy: http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product_id=200114
XBOX 360
Genre: Action/Adventure
Difficulty: Easy
Players: 1-2
Developer: Rare
Publisher: Microsoft
Review by Ruined
SYNOPSIS
From legendary game developer Rare Ltd. comes Kameo™: Elements of Power™, a larger-than-life journey full of intense combat, magnificent exploration, and innovative action that allows Kameo to transform into incredible monsters to search out and battle ever-present evil.
Kameo: Elements of Power is the first major original game Rare has released since the N64. Will this game prove Rare's worth, or will it lag behind like some of Rare's recent side-projects?
GRAPHICS: A-
Score reflects graphics viewed at 1080i resolution
The graphics in Kameo are either very good or outstanding, depending on the particular level you are playing. It is clear that some parts of the game use more of XBOX 360's power than other parts of the game. For instance, the first level of the game manages to use many shader effects that even the most advanced PC games have not tapped into yet; in addition, other areas such as The Badlands put the horsepower of XBOX 360 to work. These areas would not even be playable on the PC under the Shader Model 2.0 standard used by some very popular hardware (i.e. ATI X700, X800), as they use shader effects to add to the actual gameplay in addition to the image quality. An example of this is when you have to do fight in the Braveheart-esque battle in the Badlands, which has thousands of characters onscreen; this is only possible with Geometry Instancing which was just recently introduced to the PC in the Vertex Shader 3.0 standard, so you won't see PC games incorporating this into gameplay anytime soon. On the other hand, some of the levels in the game don't push the XBOX 360 to the limits; they still look fantastic, they just don't stand out as impossible to do on all but the most advanced video hardware as some parts of Kameo do. Even these levels, though, have tons of cool shader effects which makes them look very appealing. Almost all of the time Kameo makes you go "wow." The game has a fantasy theme, and you can easily get immersed within the world.
SOUND: A-
Score reflects sound played back in 5.1 Surround
The sound in Kameo is outstanding. Sound effects are spot on, and the music is fantastic. Surround sound is good as well. It is clear that the developers insisted on being creative when designing the sound of Kameo.
CONTROL: A-
While most of the control in the game is excellent, the underwater controls are a bit sluggish and difficult to matter. Aside from that, though, controls are intuitive and simple yet at the same time powerful. The A button is the talk button and also transforms you back into Kameo. The X, Y, and B buttons all transform you into one of the 10 elemental creatures you find throughout the game. The triggers execute the special moves and attacks of the current character you have active.
SINGLE PLAYER GAMEPLAY: A
The single player gameplay in Kameo is easy-to-master yet incredibly addictive. As you progress through the game, you gain more and more creatures that you can morph into. At any one time, you can have only 3 of these creatures active at once - though you can collect a total of 10. Therefore, the key to the game is selecting the right blend of 3 creatures for each level and scenario so that you can progress. For example, you might need one creature to roll up a vertical ramp, another creature to light a fire, and a third creature to hit a far away button to get past a puzzle in a given part of the game. Some enemies are also immune to certain elements or more vulnerable to certain elements, making your progression much easier if you use the right blend of creatures. Sometimes, you might even have to switch creatures mid-air in order to get through a part of a level.
Luckily, all of this morphing and creature selection is very well done and intuitive; hit the start button to open your Watnot book and assign creatures to face buttons at the start of an area/level, then throughout the level simply hit the face button of the creature you want to morph into when necessary. You can kill enemies by using the trigger special attacks of each creature. Sometimes, you can use attacks from two creatures to provide a more powerful attack; for instance, you can fire out an oil slick with Deep Blue (a blue octopus), then morph to Ash (a red dragon) and set the oil on fire, incinerating all enemies standing on it.
Along your way collecting all 10 elemental creatures that you need for the final battle, there are mini-puzzles and quests you can go on to get elemental fruits with. You can feed these elemental fruits to your creatures to upgrade their attacks or give them new attacks; all of this is done within the Watnot book, accessed via pressing start.
The game is both easy and difficult at the same time; while you may have to pull off some complex combos and fancy moves, generally you can't really get stuck on a puzzle in this game, as the game automatically gives you the option to get a hint whenever you are stuck. The game will alert you when it thinks you are stuck and gives you the option to get a hint by pressing start and talking to Ortho in the Watnot book. The puzzles can be fun to figure out so its not always best to get a hint as soon as you are stuck.
Gameplay remains fresh and fun throughout and will last around 15 hours if you do the side quests and upgrade all of your elemental creatures. If you rush through the game, you can probably finish it in about 10. For this type of game and with the high quality gameplay offered throughout, I feel you definitely get your money's worth with Kameo.
There are some nice little touches throughout, too. If you are in a town that surrounds a water temple, for instance, when you morph into your water elemental the NPCs will cheer you on. Also, if you hit an NPC, a lot of them will hit back. Finally, there are shops within the game that allow you to purchase alternate skins and items that will help you on your quest with coins you collect through the game.
MULTIPLAYER GAMEPLAY & XBOX LIVE FEATURES: C
Difficulty to earn XBOX Live Achievement Points: Easy
Kameo's multiplayer is weak. That being said, most games of this genre don't offer any multiplayer at all, so weak multiplayer is better than no multiplayer. You can play split screen co-operative with a friend offline in Kameo, however co-op is limited to missions which you can unlock in the single player game. These missions are levels which are different than or not present in the single player game. Though a fun addition, it is relatively shallow.
In terms of XBOX Live features, Kameo has tons of achievements to unlock as you progress through the game. I found myself motivated to play more so I could unlock more features on my XBOX Live Gamercard. A leaderboard is also accessible to Kameo players.
OVERALL: A
Kameo is an excellent game, and out of the box in my opinion is the most "fun" launch game to play single player on XBOX 360. It truly does shine as an excellent, innovative, and exciting action/adventure game. Rare has shown that they are still, in fact, a top notch studio with Kameo. Be warned though: if you are looking for a solid multiplayer experience, look elsewhere.
Link to buy: http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product_id=200114
